The Land Down Under is infamous far and wide for its many deadly animals and critters that can be found anywhere, both in the extreme wild and in the densely populated urban areas. Popular culture has made the continent country into a phenomenon known for the potentially devastating encounters with wildlife including giant spiders and a wide variety of snakes.
Snake season in Australia arrives with the warm weather, which is when most of the snakes become active and start scaring unsuspecting citizens in their properties. Nobody can really prepare for it as all you can do is equip yourself with knowledge on how best to welcome their inevitable arrival.
In this article, you will learn many of the things you probably never knew about the snake season in Australia. Pay close attention, if you live in the country and especially if you are a first-time visitor.
1. In 2024 it is here early
Source:phys.org
To continue the trend of awful things to hit both the continent and country of Aussieland and the world, the snake season has arrived earlier than usual this year. This means that snakes are already active in most parts of the country especially around their natural habitats. Warmer weather on the east coast usually leads to an earlier start of snake season as the local varieties start breeding, feeding, and moving.
2. If you need help, call the catchers
If your property experiences snake infestation, the only smart thing you can do is call a snake catcher service. One of the best in the business include SnakeCatchers Brisbane, so if you live in or around the famous city, make sure to give them a call and they will promptly rid your home and yard of snakes.
Source:123rf.com
3. If bitten, seek help immediately
No matter the type or size of the snake that has bitten you, you must prioritize seeking medical assistance. You will probably have no idea what snake has bitten you and what the effects of the potential venom are. Remain calm, apply pressure to the area with bandages, and wrap the bite three to four times. Cover the entire limb and move the bandage downwards and then up again. Leave the fingers free and mark the bite if you can.
4. Crazy numbers
To put things in perspective and make you realize how dangerous snakes are in Australia, you have to know the numbers. Every year, on average, more than 3,000 people need assistance with snakebites. Although only 300 of those require anti-venom to successfully recover, these are still considerable numbers. And these are only those who report a biting incident, which means more happen for sure.
5. October and November are the peaks of the season
If you are to find a snake in your oven or under your bed, it will most likely happen from the second half of October to the end of November. The warmer the weather the more active the snakes, however, so if September or December are unusually hot too, best believe you will have more encounters than ever.
6. Temperatures and cities
In the states of New South Wales and Queensland, the ideal temperatures for snakes range between 20 to 35 degrees Celsius. This means that Brisbane and Sydney, which usually experience temperatures above 30 are the perfect spots for snake sightings and scares.
7. Australia is home to more than 170 species
About 140 species of land snakes and 32 species of sea snakes have so far been identified in Australia. Out of the 170 or so, exactly 100 of them have venom. However, only 12 out of the 100 have it so strong that it can kill a human with a single bite, especially if not taken care of properly.
8. Not only venom kills
Source:orlandoweekly.com
Not all of the snakes kill through the venom itself. Some only paralyze the poor victim and eat them as they slowly perish. Moreover, snakes like pythons wrap around with enough force that nothing can escape their clutch. They suffocate the victim with their strong muscles and then slowly eat away. Constricting snakes are often harder to deal with than venomous snakes, but they are much easier to spot thanks to their enormous size.
9. Immense precision and diversity
Different venoms cause different effects, but all snakes are similar in one amazing thing. They have an almost 100% success rate when they strike their prey. Statistically, this is unheard of in nature. The toxins that are released break down blood, tissues, and cells, and make the prey more susceptible to the attack in general. Some may cause vomiting and nausea, while others blur the vision and make breathing almost impossible. Numbness in the limbs and the face are quite often.
10. Brown snakes are the deadliest
Source:reptilepark.com.au
Both the Eastern and Western brown snakes are responsible for the most deaths every year. This makes them the deadliest snakes in Australia, and the ones you should be worried about the most. This is because their venom causes blood clotting and paralysis. The anti-venom is quite successful, however, and it reverses the frightening effects. Death adders, copperheads, red-bellied black snakes, tiger snakes, and taipan snakes follow their brown cousins close by.
11. Reality is much better than the myth
To end things on a positive note, it should be mentioned that only two people die from a snake bite per year Down Under. This means that it happens much rarer than most people around the world assume. Although you are much more likely to both see a snake and get bitten in Australia than anywhere else, the chances of death are pretty low at best. Most fatalities come due to a human error or not being careful enough, resulting in the snake becoming spooked and attacking in self-defense. If you do not want a bad experience, leave the snakes alone!
Conclusion and Takeaways
The snake season is upon us once again, and it may be a big one since it is 2024 after all. Stay safe out there and make sure to call snake catchers or seek medical assistance if such circumstances arise. Other than that, now you have been armed with facts and knowledge meaning there is no reason to be more afraid than you should!
